


Wiser

by akmyers



Category: Original Work
Genre: Coming of Age, Fairy Tale Style, Short Story, fable style
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:28:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28298985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akmyers/pseuds/akmyers
Summary: Sometimes we have to go on an adventure to discover what we already know.





	Wiser

Once upon a time the world changed, but no one realized it except for one girl. One night she went to sleep, and when she woke up the next morning everything was different but somehow still the same, like the whole world had shifted a fraction of an inch to the right.

The changedness of the world puzzled her and filled her chest with unease. She wracked her mind searching for what was different, but she couldn't find it, so she asked her sisters because her sisters were older and wiser than she was.

"Sisters," she said one afternoon while they were walking home from town, "I feel the world is different. What has changed?"

"Silly girl," said her oldest sister. "Nothing has changed."

"The world is as it's always been," her other sister said. "Now let's race home. Last one there gets a pinch!"

The girl stifled a sigh and took off running after her sisters. She made it home last as usual and took her pinch without so much as a wince. She thought about her sister's words and tried to push the strange feeling of differentness from her mind, but the feeling just wouldn't go away, so the next morning she asked her mother because her mother was older and wiser than her sisters.

"Mother, I feel the world is different. What has changed?" the girl asked.

"Silly girl," her mother replied. "Nothing has changed. The world is as it's always been. Now go finish your chores."

The girl stifled a sigh and went about the rest of her day, but the nagging feeling the change had left her with continued to grow, so the next day the girl went to visit her grandmother because her grandmother was older and wiser than her mother.

Her grandmother set the table for tea and cake, and they sat together for a while in comfortable conversation before the girl said, "Grandmother, I feel the world is different. What has changed?"

Her grandmother squinted at the girl through her glasses and replied, "Silly child. Nothing has changed. The world is as it's always been. Now finish your tea and cake and play a game of rummy with me."

The girl stifled a sigh, drank her tea, and ate her cake. Then she and her grandmother played a lively game of rummy, but thoughts of the change weighed heavy on her mind.

The sense of wrongness grew within her until it overcame her. She grew tired and listless, as if trying to continue on with life as she had before was draining her. The world was so clearly different, and it was infuriating that no one else had noticed. The world was so clearly different, and it was maddening that she could not identify what the difference was.

One evening as the sun began to set, the girl sat alone in the garden surrounded by flowers.

"I feel the world is different. What has changed?" she whispered into the cooling air.

Around her the grass began to rustle and the blooms started to sway as a fresh breeze carried the voices of the flowers to her ears.

"We do not know what has changed," the flowers said. "Ask the trees. They are older and wiser than we."

The girl blinked in surprise. She had never heard the flowers before, but she thanked them kindly, and the next day she went to the forest at the edge of town.

The trees were old and towering and so thick they blocked out the sun behind them. The girl stood afraid in their long, dark shadows, but she swallowed her fear and stepped into the dimness of the forest to stand amongst them.

"I feel the world is different. What has changed?" she called out into the muffled quiet of the forest.

Then a wind blew through the branches and around the girl carrying the voices of the trees to her ears.

"We do not know what has changed," the trees said. "Ask the mountains. They are older and wiser than we."

The girl thanked the trees, grateful for their help and that she could hear it, and made her way back home.

The whole way home she thought about what the trees had said. The mountains were much farther away than the garden or the forest at the edge of town. It would be a long trip, and the girl found herself fatigued just thinking about it. She summoned her resolve though and decided she would leave the next morning. Her insatiable need to discover the change in the world would not allow her to shrink away from the chance to know.

The next morning she wrote a note for her family and left home before the sun rose. She walked and walked and walked. The journey was long and tiring, but she gave thanks that there was a road to follow. The sun was hot and pricked at her skin, but she gave thanks that it lit her way. Her brow glistened, and her feet ached, but she gave thanks her body carried her.

Finally she reached the foot of the mountains as the sun began to set. They stood before her enormous and ancient. She felt like no more than an ant to them. Still, she cleared her throat and called out to them.

"I feel the world is different. What has changed?"

She waited in silence for their response, and when none came her heart dropped. Then a soft gust rustled the grass at her feet and tickled her ankles, and she heard the grass.

"The mountains cannot hear you from here. You must climb," the grass told her.

The girl thanked the grass. Then she looked up at where the tops of the mountains disappeared into the clouds and then at the narrow path before her. She took a deep breath and began to climb.

The sun set, but the moon was round and bright, and it illuminated her path. The girl followed the trail up and up, and it became steeper and steeper and harder to follow as parts were overgrown or washed away. She was tired and hungry, and tears pricked at her eyes, but she continued on up the side of the mountain in the moonlight. She had come so far, and she was certain the answer she sought was so close.

She reached the saddle between two peaks as the sun rose up and cast the world in golden light. She had never seen a sunrise like this before, and she marveled at it for a long moment before her purpose made its way back to the front of her mind.

"I feel the world is different," she shouted. "What has changed?"

And with that a mighty gale rose up around her carrying the voices of the mountains.

"We do not know what has changed," was their answer. "Ask your heart. Human hearts are wiser in the ways of change than even we."

The girl thanked the mountains and sat down, weary and confused. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, and she whispered to her heart, "I feel the world is different. What has changed?"

The voice of her heart rose up on the coursing of her blood and the rhythm of her breath.

"You are different," said her heart. "You are ready to heed your own wisdom and trust your own knowing."

The girl opened her eyes and saw that this was true. No longer was she content with the just knowledge of her elders. No longer was she content to ignore the feelings that rose up within her. There was more to the world than even the flowers, trees, and mountains knew.

The girls thanked her heart, stood up and stretched, and began the journey home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! You can also find me on wattpad (https://www.wattpad.com/user/akmyers) and on my website (www.akmyers.net).


End file.
